The present invention relates to a system for summoning an elevator and, more particularly, to a system which will shorten or eliminate the delay which normally occurs between the arrival of the user to the area immediately in front of the elevator and the arrival of the elevator.
Conventional elevator systems include one or two summons buttons located in the vicinity of the elevator on every floor. Typically, these buttons, which usually include one for summoning the elevator for going up and one for going down, are mounted on the wall just a few centimeters of the elevator door.
To summon an elevator, the user approaches the area immediately in front of the elevator shaft and depresses one or the other of the two elevator summons buttons. The summons is fed to the elevator controller which provides commands to an elevator to stop on the floor from which the summons was issued when the elevator is heading in the desired direction.
Depending on the precise location and direction of the elevators at the instant the summons is effected and on the type and size of elevator system involved, the wait from the instant the summons button is depressed until the elevator arrives could lake anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes. The wait, especially when it spans several minutes, is wasteful of the user's time and can be quite aggravating.
There is thus a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, an elevator system which would significantly reduce or eliminate the waiting time between the summoning of an elevator and its arrival.